Composing-stick



- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. GOLDING, or CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS.

COMPOSlNG-STICK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 347,591, dated August-17, 1886.

Application filed November 2, 1885. Serial No. 181.674. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILL M H. GOLDING, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chelsea, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inComposing Sticks, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to composing-sticks of that class in which theknee is adjustably and removably secured by means of a pivoted claspadapted to embrace the knee and wall of the stick in such manner as tofirmly bind the two together; and the invention consists in certainfeatures of construction hereinafter specified, and particularly pointedout in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of a composing-stickconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is atrausversesection through the pivot of the lever. a portion of the knee beingshown in end elevation. Fig. 3 is a similar-view ofa modification. 'Fig.4 is a perspective of the knee;

' Fig. 5 is a perspective of the lever, and Fig.

6 is a perspective of the knee employed in the modification illustratedin Fig. 3.

'- Like letters indicate like 'parts in all the figures. v

A represents the bottom, B the end wall, and O the back of acomposing-Stick, formed in this instance of sheet metal, and providedwith a series of holes, 0, in the back.

D represents theknee, which is provided with aseries of holes, D, inthat branch there of which is arranged against the back 0 of the stick.

E represents the clamping-lever, which is provided with a pivot, E, andwith a bindingclamp, which consists of two projectiona E and E*, thatserve to embrace the back of the stick and a branchof the knee. Thelever E is in this instance formed of sheet metal, preferably steel,bent to the form shown, and having its projections E E slightly inclinedto-.

ward each other at their free ends; or it may be arranged parallel witheach other and slightly tapered upon their inner surfaces,

whereby in the first instance, the material being light and resilient,the projections will snugly clasp the back and knee by reason of theirresiliency, and in the second instance,

with proper fitting, the said projections, being of heavier material andrigid, will also firmly bind the parts together when embraced by saidprojections.

.As a further modification which would present itself to persons skilledin the construction of articles of this class, the branch of the kneeembraced by the projections on the lever may be slightly wedge-shaped invertical crosssection, so that as the lever is depressed the projectionswill firmly bind the knee to the stick.

As thus far described, it will be seen that the lever is entirelyremovable from the stick and the knee, so that by moving the latterwithin the former, to cause any one of the holes D therein to registerwith a hole, 0, in the back of the stick, the pivot E of the lever maybe passed through the hole O of the back into a hole, D, of the knee,which registers therewith, the lever at such time being elevated at itsfree end, so that both of'the projections are above the top of the kneeand back, and so that by depressing said free end of the lever, itmoving upon its pivot, the said projections serve to bind the knee inthe position selected.

Heretofore in com posing-sticks of this class ,clamping projections werenecessarily located at a greater distance from the face of thetransverse branch of the knee than in my invention. It is apparent thatthe nearer the clamping projections are to the working-face of the kneethe more firmly will the latter be held in operative position andagainst springing away from the back when pressure is applied to theouter end of the transverse branch of the knee. Such an action of theknee is more apt to occur when the stick is nearly filled and when thelines are somewhat crowded. Now, in order to furtherstrengthen the kneeagainstsuch displacement, I may apply thereto a loop, D", which shallembrace the back and extend beneath the bottom A of the stick, as at DFig. 3. The upperend of the loop may be securedby rivets or otherwise tothe top of the knee, as at D. The loop is provided with In thisconstruction the lever may or may not, as desired, be permanentlypivoted in the hole D of the loop, in which case the hole 0 in the backof the stick may be dispensed with; but when a graduated scale, as A, isprovided on the bottom A of the stick, and when the holes 0 are arrangedin relation to said scale, the removable lever E is advantageous insetting the stick to varied widths of column, the graduations of thescale and the relative locations of the holes 0' being adapted forvariations of pieas or haltpicas in length of line to which the kneemaybe set. Further or intermediate variations in the location of theknee may be secured by the series of holes D therein; so, also, may ahole he formed in the knee opposite the hole I) in the loop thereof, inwhich case the pivot of the removable lever may be inserted through theloop and through the back and into the knee, whereby I still retain theadvantage of a close disposition of the clamping projections to theworking-face of the knee, as before described.

It will be noticed that the lever E is of such a form that when closedno part thereof projccts materially from the knee or stick, and thattherefore it does not act as an obstruction to convenience in use, whileat the same time it may be readily raised to unlock the knee. The entirelever,with the exception ofits pivot, may be struck up from a singlepiece of metal.

It is apparent that the pivot E for the lever may be affixed to the kneeand projected through any of the holes in the back C, so that the lever,being provided with a hole at its pivot end, can be placed upon theprojecting pivot and swung down to clamp the parts, as hereiubeforcdescribed.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. The combination, withthe body of a composingetick and its knee, ofa k nee-clamping leverpivoted outside of the stick and in advance of the rear wall of thetransverse branch of the knee, Substantially as specified.

2. The combination, with the body of a composing-stick and its knee, ofa leve having clamping projections adapted to embrace a branch of theknee and the back of the stick, and pivotally connected with the kneefrom the outside of the stick, whereby the clamping projections arebrought in closer proximity to the working-face of the knee,substantially as specified.

3. In combination with the body ofa composing-stick having a series ofholes in its back, a removable clamping-lever, a knee, and a pivot forthe lever, passing through the back, substantially as specified.

4. The combination, with the body of a composing-stick having a seriesof holes in its back and a graduated scale, of a k nee having hoies anda removable lever having a pivot adapted to enter the holes in the backand that in the knee, whereby predetermined adjustments of the knee maybe efi'ccted, substantially as specified.

5. The combination of the stick A, having aseries of holes, 0, in theback 0 thereof, the knee 1), having the holes D, and the re movablelever E. having the projections E E", and beyond the latter projectionthe pivot E, substantially as specified In testimony whereof I afiix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

\VILLIAM H. GOLDING.

\Vitnesses:

W. G. EVERT, CHAS. F. TENNEY.

